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triple lock, she needs to put it to the people in a referendum. I commend the brave men and women of our Defence Forces, particularly those who have served as peacekeepers in some of the world's most volatile regions. As Chair of the defence and national security … where the Government's focus should be regarding defence. Military neutrality does not mean military weakness. A neutral country needs credible, properly resourced defence forces and the triple lock is not a barrier to any of this. It is also not a blanket ban on overseas activity

Minister to update the House on the Defence Forces personnel numbers for 2026, 2025 and 2024. What steps are being taken to increase those numbers and to strengthen the Defence Forces

spent quite a lot of time discussing the level of ambition that was set out in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. It is now time to put that into action. I appreciate that we have increased spending on the military and on defence … then not operating them is madness in the extreme. Let us make sure we address this and that we deliver for the Defence Forces and the people who serve in them. As I said, one of the ways we can do that, and I hope this is something

provided for in the equipment development programme. It is also what is provided for in the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. That is the plan. The equipment development plan is a living document. We continue to review it. We continue to update it based … level of funding available, organisational priorities and timing issues. The Defence Forces are currently re-evaluating all their strategic equipment and infrastructural priorities to align with the revised capital allocation they have received. The Naval Service vessel renewal and replacement programme will be progressed in accordance with this

hÉireann and the only current Deputy who has signed the oath of allegiance, the same oath of allegiance that all members of the Defence Forces sign. When we sign, we say we will only obey lawful orders. Lawful orders are orders that are fully and wholly in alignment … When deployments are being considered, the first step for the Government is to seek the advice of senior and experienced members of the Defence Forces, the men and women I mentioned at the beginning of my contribution, who are beholden to obeying international law, alongside the Departments

that other troops and teams are protected. In the past few months in particular, we have seen a lot of how the Irish Defence Forces, our peacekeepers, have worked closely to protect and support their French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Indonesian and many other colleagues. It is really important … this mission comes to a conclusion, it does so in a safe and orderly way. That is absolutely at the forefront of our Defence Forces members' minds in everything they do. What is also important - and I can touch on this in my final contribution - is what

work in a variety of different areas. On the broader issue of pay, we cannot say it enough to people considering joining the Defence Forces that we should debunk some of the myths. I am not referring to myths put forward by anybody here, but recruit … Defence Forces on completion of training, which takes around 24 weeks, now starts at €41,880. A school-leaver cadet on commissioning starts at just over €45,000, rising to over €51,000 after two years. Where a graduate joins, the pay rate on commission begins at over

triple lock and fully recognise that strongly held beliefs exist on all sides of this debate. I have met members of the Defence Forces who strongly support the proposed changes and I have heard firmly held opposition from others. In my view, legitimate arguments have been advanced … other permanent Security Council member would be able to prevent Ireland from participating in peacekeeping missions approved by the Oireachtas. Any deployment of Defence Forces personnel overseas would still require Government and Dáil approval. The legislation does not alter Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality, nor does

Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence if her Department will now commit to paying members of the Defence Forces premiums for public holidays and overtime following the decision by the European Committee of Social Rights, which said both the prohibition on overtime across the Defence Forces

Minister is well aware, the Commission on the Defence Forces produced a very important strategy in 2022, and the subsequent implementation plan outlined a series of measures that needed to be taken to strengthen our Defence Forces. One of the key issues was the whole area of recruitment

would appreciate it if the Minister would inform the Dáil of the current numbers of personnel within each service of the Defence Forces, the current establishment figure and the number that will be required to meet level of ambition 2 under the commission on the future … Defence Forces

that Ireland has been participating in peacekeeping it has been under the exclusive banner of the UN. When people sign up for the Defence Forces, it is with a reasonable expectation that overseas service will be in a blue beret. Has the Minister consulted with rank and file … members of the Defence Forces on this fundamental change to their terms and conditions

national security the arms industry. We are going to need to procure radar, sonar and uniforms for the men and women of the Defence Forces. The Deputy may disagree but the Government is clear that we are going to level of ambition … Commission on the Defence Forces report. We then want to go to level of ambition 3. That is going to require spending money and Irish companies should be in a position to benefit. That is all it is about. We do not publish the minutes of every meeting

have achieved a significant amount to further enhance the protection of employees. Most recently, in January, the European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Defence Forces) Regulations 2025 were signed into law. These important regulations provide that the statutory protection of the Organisation of Working Time … applied to members of the Defence Forces. The Employment Permits Act 2024 introduced significant changes to the employment permit systems in Ireland, including the introduction of a new seasonal employment permit. This is a short-term permit that will allow non-EEA nationals to work in seasonal employment

peacekeeping missions but there are 11 active peacekeeping missions already in the world. Another claim is that we need to modernise our Defence Forces. Of course we do and we should not be leaving it until now to do it. That needed to be resourced, our personnel needed … paid properly and our Defence Forces needed to be modernised long ago. That should have happened and nothing in the triple lock stops us from doing that. Another suggestion is that Russia will use the power of veto that the five permanent members of the Security Council have

easy to upgrade them. It costs a lot of money but it is a very necessary investment in our Permanent Defence Force. It acts as an attractive measure if there is decent living accommodation while a person is being upskilled and being trained to be a member … Defence Forces

previously outlined, the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces called for the development of an east coast base for the Naval Service. While IPVs can currently operate from Haulbowline, it is a strategic goal of the Defence Forces to develop a forward-operating base

will talk to the new Minister for Defence in respect of that. I did set up the office of the Reserve Defence Force. We really have beefed up the capacity behind it, all with a view to increasing the number of reservists because it is a very important … dimension to our Defence Forces. My view is that we should be doing everything to incentivise the recruitment of reservists, not disincentivising

work was done, much of it by my predecessor, the Taoiseach, in terms of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces. That was a very helpful and important piece of infrastructure. What we do not need to do, however, is every time we try to spend … jigsaw and is interlinked; if people start to see more investment, increased capability, more operations and the likes, it makes the Defence Forces more attractive. The reverse is also true. We need to get all the pieces of the jigsaw together

national defence is becoming more important by the day. The Government is slow-walking change, though, to the pay and conditions of our Defence Forces, particularly for our cadets. It is simply unacceptable. The question I want to ask the Minister today is about the timeline … increase of cadet pay in the Defence Forces

that some capabilities were allowed to fall into abeyance over a period. That is why the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces was very important in terms of setting forth a plan for how we get from not having sufficient protection for our State … having sufficient resources for our Defence Forces, to having what we need. We are working through that, and the implementation phase is ongoing

really welcome investment in Defence Forces. I will never forget when I was canvassing in Arklow and I went to the house of a young soldier who had come back from Lebanon after six months. I went there out of respect because I was called by community leads … Ford, around the corner who was there and he was his idol. It is very important the Tánaiste continue the investment into the Defence Forces and personnel

suite of employment rights and protections. Another important development took place in January this year when the European Communities Organisation of Working Time (Defence Forces) Regulations 2025 was signed into law. These important regulations provide for the statutory protection of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which … applies to members of the Defence Forces. In 2024, the Employment Permits Act 2024 introduced significant changes, including the introduction of a new seasonal employment permit. This is a short-term permit which will allow non-EEA nationals to work in seasonal employment for up to seven months

engaged in for a huge period of time. That is down to the fact that there was a run-down allowed of the Defence Forces. The one thing the Minister will get agreement on throughout the Chamber and throughout the campus is that there has been a long … term failure to invest in the Defence Forces and that when we even spoke of neutrality we did not have the capacity to actually operate as many other neutral countries or states did. That is a failing that needs to be addressed and I am not quite sure

that those who serve the State with such professionalism and integrity should be able to do so in a modern and well-equipped Defence Forces that is also a safe place to work, as all places should be. In that regard, as I mentioned previously, I announced … substantial investment of €1.7 billion in the Defence Forces over the next four years. It is not just about technology and equipment or new naval vessels. There is an investment specifically in the men and women and the equipment they use on a day-to-day basis

Minister for Defence if plans to introduce employment protections for private-sector reservists so they can fulfil their service commitments in the Reserve Defence Forces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43883/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether her Department has carried out any internal audit since 19 July 2024 of Defence Forces procurement contracts to identify whether any existing equipment, software, communications systems, avionics, sensors or subsystems have links to companies headquartered in Israel

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether her Department has reviewed existing Defence Forces supply chains for exposure to companies operating in, supplying to, or benefitting from Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory; and if she will make a statement on the matter

military neutrality, constitutional obligations, international humanitarian law, rules governing the deployment of armed capabilities, or the operational use of the aircraft by the Defence Forces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43641/26

country of origin of software, avionics, communications systems, sensor systems, cybersecurity tools, mission systems or other embedded technologies currently used by the Defence Forces; whether any such review identified technologies originating from Israel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43650/26

Minister for Defence the current status of the proposed National Aviation Security Strategy recommended by the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces; the timeline for its completion and publication; whether responsibility for preparing the strategy has been formally assigned to a lead Department

plans to update Circular 51/1979 to increase the allocation of paid training leave that civil/public servants who also serve in the Reserve Defence Force are entitled to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43882/26

Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Defence the measures being taken to improve recruitment and retention within the permanent Defence Force, particularly in regional areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40857/26

Defence whether any component, subsystem, software module, sensor, avionics unit, or communications system integrated into equipment currently in operational use by the Defence Forces was manufactured, developed, or licensed by a company headquartered in Israel or by an Israeli subsidiary of a multinational company; if so, to provide

which a reservist undertaking supplemental military service (SMS) can be deployed overseas for a period of six months, interoperating with the Permanent Defence Force, when SMS is currently limited to a maximum of 100 days in a calendar year; and if she will make a statement

Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Defence the way in which reservists undertaking supplemental military service (SMS) can effectively support the Permanent Defence Force during Ireland’s EU Presidency when the maximum period of SMS service available between 1 June 2026 and 31 December 2026 is limited

governing supplemental military service (SMS), a reservist must now voluntarily apply for SMS and obtain prior Ministerial approval in order to undertake Reserve Defence Force (RDF) recruitment activities, RDF administrative activities or to instruct on RDF training activities; and if she will make a statement on the matter

been undertaken of the extent to which foreign-origin defence software, firmware, avionics systems, communications systems, or mission-critical technologies used by the Defence Forces are dependent on ongoing licensing, remote servicing, software support, or update agreements with external suppliers; and if she will make a statement

Defence whether any contractual provisions exist permitting the State to restrict, remove, replace, or refuse embedded defence technologies originating from specific jurisdictions within Defence Forces procurement programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40588/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether she intends to publish the Strategic Workforce Plan for the Defence Forces in full; whether any sections are expected to be withheld or redacted; the rationale for any such redactions; and if she will make a statement

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the Department or Defence Forces have conducted any operational capability assessment or formal risk assessment relating to current Air Corps staffing levels; and if so, whether any risks were identified regarding operational readiness, air ambulance support, maritime surveillance

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the Defence Forces maintain internal workforce modelling regarding projected shortages in specialist Air Corps roles, including pilots, engineers, air traffic personnel and technical grades; and if she will provide details at a policy level. [39227/26

revised national military aviation strategy or rotary-wing capability doctrine arising from the implementation of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces recommendations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39250/26

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel, by rank that would be required to train a 30 persons Air Corps cadetship class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39379/26

impact of the removal of the supplementary pension for post-2013 fast accrual public servants, including members of An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, Prison Service and Fire Services; whether concerns regarding recruitment, retention and financial hardship in retirement have been assessed; and if he will make

difference in projected occupational pension incomes between members of An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, full-time fire service and the Permanent Defence Forces who commenced service before 1 January 2013 and comparable personnel who commenced on or after that date and are members of the single

Reform and Digitalisation if his Department has reviewed the impact of the public service single pension scheme on fast-accrual grades in the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service and the Fire Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38007/26

Science his views on the decision to refuse a SUSI grant to a student (details supplied) who is a member of the Reserve Defence Force but is not employed by the RDF; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38132/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Defence whether the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces were considered during the procurement process relating to the acquisition of the four Airbus H145 helicopters; whether the Department assessed medium-lift helicopter capability requirements

Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Defence the amount spent on purchasing replacement musician instruments for Defence Forces School of Music in 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form. [37276/26